in the infrastructure, securely aggregate data from a manageable number of meters and relay the information to the centralized utility servers. In this white paper, we discuss the smart grid AMI, focusing on the data concentrators. We will outline the role Texas Instruments (TI) Sitara™ processors play in facilitating intelligent automation of the AMI unit as demonstrated through a comprehensive sys- tem reference solution. The scalable TI processor portfolio offers an opportunity to build a platform solution that can be tailored based on the data concentrator requirements. Data concentrator Advancement in smart grid technology has transformed the energy segment. With improved infrastructure, a bi-directional flow of energy and data information can be achieved. The key to optimizing this complex network of intelligent systems is automation of the core components. Introduction Nearly 36 million smart meters were in- stalled across the United States as of August 2012. In the European Union, smart meters continue to be deployed rapidly to meet the mandate that this technology reach 80 per- cent of households by 2020 [1] . The technical and economic challenge of every installed meter directly communicating with utility servers makes the solution non-practical. With a large install base, it is essential to establish an automated metering infrastruc- ture (AMI). With automated meter reading (AMR) measurement, the communication of meter data to the central billing station will be seamless. In addition to collecting energy usage information for billing, utility provid- ers can leverage AMI to trouble-shoot and analyze any fault in the metering network. Data concentrators are a critical node in the AMI; these aggregators are con- nected to several utility meters and a central utility server. This facilitates the communication of data between the me- ters and the energy service provider. Data concentrators, at several points Data concentrators: The core of energy and data management Punya Prakash, Business Manager, Sitara™ processors Texas Instruments WHITE PAPER Figure 1: Smart grid infrastructure demonstrating two-way energy and data flow The AMI is inclusive of intelligent meters that record electricity consumption at regular intervals, providing the data to the utility provider. The frequency of this data feedback ranges from an hourly feedback meter to real-time meters with a built-in two-way communication structure. These systems have the capability of recording and transmitting instantaneous in- formation. The recorded data provides more information on the load of the various end points that are actively consuming energy.
Transcript
in the infrastructure, securely aggregate data from a manageable number of meters and relay
the information to the centralized utility servers.
In this white paper, we discuss the smart grid AMI, focusing on the data concentrators.
We will outline the role Texas Instruments (TI) Sitara™ processors play in facilitating
intelligent automation of the AMI unit as demonstrated through a comprehensive sys-
tem reference solution. The scalable TI processor portfolio offers an opportunity to build
a platform solution that can be tailored based on the data concentrator requirements.
Data concentratorAdvancement in smart grid technology has transformed the energy segment. With improved
infrastructure, a bi-directional flow of energy and data information can be achieved. The key
to optimizing this complex network of intelligent systems is automation of the core components.
Introduction
Nearly 36 million smart meters were in-
stalled across the United States as of August
2012. In the European Union, smart meters
continue to be deployed rapidly to meet the
mandate that this technology reach 80 per-
cent of households by 2020[1]. The technical
and economic challenge of every installed
meter directly communicating with utility
servers makes the solution non-practical.
With a large install base, it is essential to
establish an automated metering infrastruc-
ture (AMI). With automated meter reading
(AMR) measurement, the communication of
meter data to the central billing station will
be seamless. In addition to collecting energy
usage information for billing, utility provid-
ers can leverage AMI to trouble-shoot and
analyze any fault in the metering network.
Data concentrators are a critical node
in the AMI; these aggregators are con-
nected to several utility meters and a
central utility server. This facilitates the
communication of data between the me-
ters and the energy service provider.
Data concentrators, at several points
Data concentrators: The core of energy and data management
Punya Prakash,Business Manager,
Sitara™ processors
Texas Instruments
W H I T E P A P E R
Figure 1: Smart grid infrastructure demonstrating two-way energy and data flow
The AMI is inclusive of intelligent meters that record electricity consumption at regular
intervals, providing the data to the utility provider. The frequency of this data feedback ranges
from an hourly feedback meter to real-time meters with a built-in two-way communication
structure. These systems have the capability of recording and transmitting instantaneous in-
formation. The recorded data provides more information on the load of the various end points
that are actively consuming energy.
Data concentrators: The core of energy and data management September 2013
2 Texas Instruments
A data concentrator is the core of data and energy management in an AMI. It provides the technology to
measure and collect energy usage data. The concentrator can also be programmed to analyze and communi-
cate this information to the central utility database. Not only can the utility providers could use this informa-
tion for billing services, but can improve customer relationships through enhanced consumer services such
as real-time energy analysis and communication of usage information. Additional benefits of fault detection
and initial diagnosis can also be achieved, further optimizing the operational cost.
There are two types of networks connecting to data concentrators:
• NAN: Neighborhood Area Network
• WAN: Wide Area Network
Data concentrators communicate information through the grid through aggregation of information from
various meters. Additionally, its benefits include:
• Smartmetering – instant read, load
profile, billing information and remote
management
• Inventorymanagement – give utilities
better visibility into its assets
• Optimizationofnetwork – real-time
topology display, performance management
and benchmarking
Figure 2: Typical data concentrator network
Figure 3: Data concentrator functional block diagram
Data concentrators: The core of energy and data management September 2013
3Texas Instruments
There are multiple challenges in the AMI market today, specifically for data concentrator applications.
The metering installations support various communication standards in different regions. In addition to the
new protocols, older communication interfaces based on RS-485 should also be considered while design-
ing a platform solution. The key for a scalable concentrator platform is to be fully functional with meters and
back-end management systems from various vendors implementing compliant technology proving multi-
vendorinteroperability.
To deploy multiplecommunicationstandards on a single system, it is essential to have a robust software
foundation. Ideally, with validated communication firmware, vendors can invest in developing applications to
customize their system offering. Smart grid applications such as transformer detection and energy balancing
can be developed by taking advantage of this advanced technology.
With smart meter rollouts, the abundance of energy usage information can be used by utility companies to
boost customer experiences. This aggregation of information requires data- and energy-managed solutions.
By improving the datamanagementandnetworkingsecurity, utility companies can deploy applications
though which consumers can have higher granularity into their energy consumption.
Field tests and approval of this technology are significantly time consuming. Using field-proventechnology
will mitigate the risk significantly improving the time to market. These outdoor installations call for systems
with high integration to be built for rugged environment.
TI’s Sitara AM335x processor-based data concentrator evaluation module (EVM) addresses some of these
challenges. With proven hardware and a robust software solution, these system solutions improve the time to
market considerably.
Depending on the system requirements, TI offers a data concentrator EVM with various performance, cost
and connectivity options. The latest Sitara AM335x processor-based TMDSDC3359 EVM aids higher network
– C2000 MCU Lower MAC and PRIME PHY • G3 DC Interfaces – Management – DLMS/COSEM IPv6 application
• G3 Topology – Maximum 2000 nodes
• G3 DC Resources (ARM9/Cortex-A8 processor) – Program memory: 256 KB – Data memory: 580 KB – CPU consumption: < 1% – Note: MIPS-intensive blocks in C2000 MCUs
IPv6
Bu
ffer
Man
ager
Linux™ OS
HCT
UART Interface(HCT message)
Lower MAC (LMAC)
PHY
HALBu
ffer
Man
ager
DSP/BIOS™ Real-Time Kernel
Features on ARM9/Cortex-A8 Processor and C2000™ MCU
G3Stack• Sitara processor
• ADP 6LoWPAN Bootstrapping
• Mesh routing (LOAD)
• Security EAP/PSK
• Upper MAC
• C2000™ microcontroller
• Lower MAC and Prime PHY
G3DCInterfaces• Management
• DLMS/COSEM IPv6 application
G3Topology• Maximum 2000 nodes
Sitara™Processor
Data concentrators: The core of energy and data management September 2013
5Texas Instruments
Features and benefits of TI’s smart
data concentrator evaluation module:
Figure 6: PRIME Base Node Stack from Texas Instruments
The new Smart Data Concentration EVM highlights the ease of using TI’s broad portfolio of complementary
analog. As a full TI system solution, the TMDSDC3359 EVM includes more than 20 analog components from
TI’s power management, interface, isolation and logic portfolios, which makes it easy for smart grid develop-
ers to integrate TI’s processors, microcontrollers and connectivity solutions with these analog parts.
The reference solution also includes demo applications such as the DLMS/COSEM to help developers eval-
uate the system and potentially use it in the final product. This system-tested core communication software
stack allows developers to customize the data concentrator designs solution and release it to market faster.
• Based on TI’s Sitara AM3359 processor that provides the necessary performance to implement complex
routing algorithms in the data concentrator. This enables the system to connect with more than 2,000
e-meters.
• Implementing Sitara AM335x processor or an alternative Tiva™ C Series ARM® microcontroller (MCU)
provides developers a larger range of performance (80MHz to 1GHz) and cost options.
• Includes advanced hardware and software that reduce development time by up to nine months while still
supporting quick connectivity to more than 2,000 smart e-meters.
• Integrated communication interfaces include two Ethernet (MAC) ports, USB and up to eight UARTs for
quick and easy connectivity to other systems on the smart grid.
• Available with multiple PLC stacks for MAC and PHY layers so developers can create designs that support
PLC-Lite, PRIME, G3 and IEEE-P1901.2 standards.
• DLMS/COSEM applications standard, supported by third party Aricent, pre-determines how the data
concentrator will organize metrology data and send it back to the utility.
FirmwareUpgrade Application
Server
ManagementServer
ARM9™/Cortex™-A8 Processor
C2000™ (F28PLC83 SOM) MCU
Available From TI – PRIME Base Node Stack
• PRIME Stack – ARM9/Cortex-A8 processor IEC 61334-4-32 LLC IEC 61334-4-32 SSCS and NUL SSCS Upper MAC – C2000 MCU Lower MAC and PRIME PHY
• PRIME DC Interfaces – Management – Application • PRIME Topology – Maximum 2000 nodes – 32 switches (to be increased for future release) – 3600 connections (Unicast and management)
• PRIME DC Resources (ARM9/Cortex-A8 processor) – Program memory: 192 kB – Data memory: 580 KB – CPU consumption: < 1% – Note: MIPS-intensive blocks in C2000 MCUs
IEC 61334-4-32LLC
PRIME DC
IEC 61334-4-32LLC
IPv4/IPv6
Convergence Sub-layers
NULL
Bu
ffe
r M
an
ag
er
Linux™ OS
HCT
UART Interface
(HCT message)
Lower MAC (LMAC)
PHY
HALBu
ffe
r M
an
ag
er
DSP/BIOS™ Real-Time Kernel
Features on PRIME Stack
Upper MAC (UMAC)
HCT
PRIMEStack• Sitara processor
• IEC-61334-4-32 LLC
• IEC-61334-4-32 SSCS and NUL SSCS
• Upper MAC
• C2000 microcontroller
• Lower MAC and PRIME PHY
PRIMEDCInterfaces• Management
• Application
PRIMETopology• 2000 nodes
• 32 switches
• 3600 connections (Unicast and Management)
Sitara™Processor
A data concentrator is the core of the AMI system and improves the overall energy and data management
of the smart grid system. These systems provide the means to collect energy-utilization information and
relay it back to the central utility servers. Utility companies could use this data and provide higher granular-
ity of energy usage to its end consumers, improving the overall customer experience. With these intelligent
systems, the operational efficiency of the grid can also be improved through seamless billing information and
grid network fault detection.
The Sitara processor-based TI data concentrator evaluation module significantly improves the time to mar-
ket through its complete system solution. Through the field-proven system solution and support for prominent
grid communication standards, it addresses the primary challenges in the data concentrator market today.
With TI’s solution, the development time for these systems is greatly reduced, accelerating the time to market.
For more information on TI’s data concentrator evaluation module, please visit
www.ti.com/dsp-arm-datacon-wp-sw.
For more information about TI’s Sitara AM335x processors, please visit
www.ti.com/dsp-arm-datacon-wp-lp.
[1] Smart meter deployments continue to rise – U.S. Energy Information Administration:
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